The beta testing period has officially ended. Version 2.6 beta 5 has been removed from the site.

Usually the release of the next version marks the end of the beta testing period, but this time things are a little bit different, so here is the official announcement:

Version 2.6 is officially retired. The next release will now be version 3.0. I hope to release it in the next few days.

For the first time in the history of the Tournament Director software, an upgrade will not necessarily be free. Dates are not set in stone at this point, but at the time of this writing, if you purchased your license after January 1st, 2010, then you should qualify for at least a discount for the upgrade.

Beta testers: I of course did not forget about you. This has been a very long and involved release of the Tournament Director software, and your contributions have not gone unnoticed. If you were a beta tester for 2.6, you will receive a free upgrade. There are a few stipulations, of course. You had to test version 2.6 beta 5, between its release date and today (Oct 24, 2011). Since the software does a version check at startup, I should have a record of it in my logs.

I would really like to hear what everyone thinks. Your opinions are important. I'm putting on my flame suit now, just in case.

One last thing to you beta testers: I did something new in beta 5 and put in an expiration date. Yes, really. That means the software will cease to function on the expiration date, which is November 1, 2011. I really thought I would be able to get this thing done a lot sooner than this, but life has a way of doing its own thing. I've really cut it close. So be aware of this, and be sure to request your upgraded license as soon as possible after I release version 3.0. I don't want anyone to get stuck out because of my possibly boneheaded decision to put that into the beta version.

Great Job Corey.Of course, the few of us who post here regularly will continue to contribute to the growth of future versions.As for new licenses, how do we obtain these ? (I actually have 2 registered to me)

I know as a tester, I would definitely appreciate it being free, given everything that we (as testers in whole) have found, assisted with, and suggested for the next beta/version of TD. If you do offer it free for the beta testers, I would like to give a BIG THANK YOU to you, Corey!

Mike

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My cowboys shot down your rockets---If you send a request to me please send that you got me from here w/your TD name to confirm. Thanks!

So, let's say I have a game on Nov. 4 (which I do), the beta expires and V3 is not ready...what then?

Won't happen. If for some reason I am unable to get it released by then, I will release a beta 6 as an interim solution with the expiration date extended or removed. (Given the short time frame, I may have to do this anyway.) I won't leave beta testers "high and dry".

Will there be a list before hand of what has been changed, improved? Will it be fully backwards compatible?

Yes, as always there will be a list of all of the changes, and it will be the same level of backwards compatible as all previous versions (that is, version 3.0 will be able to load any saved tournament or template from any previous version).

Here's the list of changes, relative to version 2.6.b5. This will in the end be combined with all of the changes starting from 2.6 alpha 1, and pruned since many bugs fixed between betas won't matter in the larger context. And there are a ton of things under the hood that were tweaked and not worthy (I thought at the time) of noting, so this list is unfortunately somewhat partial.

Version 3.0======================================================================New Features:----------------------------------------------------------------------- Auto-save is now a preference, and behavior is controlled by the preference (can remain on after loading a tournament, can warn you about overwriting results from previously-run tournaments, etc)- Added feature to add all players in a tournament to a league, or remove all players in a tournament from a league- All player dialogs now save their sorting configuration- Added "offset" attribute to <round> layout token- Added "showName" attribute to <prize> layout token- Added <actionsummary> layout token- Added <file> layout token- Added "tooltip" attribute to <tdbutton> layout token- Added setting to give fractional hits when more than one hitman is designated- Added context menu options and hotkey actions to maximize/restore the Settings window- Added preference for skipping the player movement dialog when Auto Seating players- Added Rank column to the Undo Bust-Out dialog (assists in locating the last busted-out player when the wrong player is accidentally busted out)- Added Status Updates feature which sends the current state of the tournament to a file or a URL at specified intervals- Added rake data to receipts- Added ability to ad-hoc fire events- Updated League and Season dialogs and added ability to make a copy of an existing league- Added sorting to Hotkeys tab- Overhauled formula variables system- Added formula variables: rebuysSecondsLeft, addonsSecondsLeft, defaultBuyinFee, defaultBuyinRake, defaultBuyinChips, defaultRebuyFee, defaultRebuyRake, defaultRebuyChips, defaultAddOnFee, defaultAddOnRake, defaultAddOnChips, guaranteedPot, preGuaranteedPot, guaranteeDiff, houseContribution, totalBuyinsAmount, totalBuyinsRake, totalBuyinsChips, totalRebuysAmount, totalRebuysRake, totalRebuysChips, totalAddOnsAmount, totalAddOnsRake, totalAddOnsChips- Updated license dialog to display only once per day- Added an option to sort listing by table/seat on Seating Chart screen- Added BountyKept value to players for Stats Genie export- Context menus can now be navigated using cursor and Enter keys- Added preference to control which player fields are searched on Database tab and on player dialogs- Added Game window screen transitions- Added ability to "Stretch" screen background images- Added an Event Action to launch an external program- Added option to use an Estimated pot instead of the actual pot

----------------------------------------------------------------------Bugs Fixed:----------------------------------------------------------------------- (2.6.b5): Salesperson selector gone from all transaction dialogs- (2.6.b5): Mini-clock sometimes indicated the clock was paused during a countdown to a specific time (which cannot be paused)- (2.6.b5): Error when "Paid in full" checkbox is clicked on Game Player Dialog- (2.6.b5): Error when a layout from 2.5.12 or earlier was loaded with tables on the Seating Chart screen having background images- (2.6.b5): Sorting tables on the Tables tab did not sort background images for the tables on the Seating Chart screen- (2.6.b5): Seating Chart screen properties updates did not always trigger that the Layout should be saved before loading another or exiting the program- (2.6.b5): Error on Adjust Rankings dialog when mouse cursor hovered over a certain part of the dialog- (2.6.b4): Adding a player to the tournament using the Dashboard or hotkeys doesn't add the player to the unseated players list on the Tables tab (if the player isn't bought-in and seating of unpaid players is enabled)- (2.6.b5): Editing a player who is not bought-in but seated will unseat the player- (2.6.b5): Error on Stats tab if a player was a hitman and then removed from the tournament, or if a player busted out without a hitman- Removing a player from the tournament via Players tab -> context menu -> "Remove <player> from tournament" does not produce a receipt- (2.5.12): When choosing to rebuy directly after a bust-out, the busted player is not already checked (and should be)- (2.5.12): Data Stores dialog sizing issue if resized manually- (2.6.b5): "Hide rake on transaction dialogs" preference behavior is backwards, and this also can cause an error when pressing Enter to move from field to field- (2.6.a1): Default Stats Profile doesn't allow formulas editors to open (needs to so formulas can be copied)- (2.6.a1): Many layout tokens are refreshed too often, causing unwanted behavior- (2.6.b5): Unchecking "Enabled" checkbox on Status Messages dialog does not disable the particular status message- (2.6.b5): News checking can cause error- (2.6.b5): Some Stats Profiles won't save sources- (2.6.b5): When "Enable hotkeys on Settings tabs that do not have inputs" is enabled, keystrokes are prevented from reaching the tab (even those with no hotkeys), so things like "Enter" when a button is focused don't do anything- (2.6.b3): Clock set button in layout will cause an error if pressed when no rounds schedule is configured- (2.6.b5): Level duration not updated on Rounds tab when a round is edited- (2.6.a1): Error when clicking "Create a new event from scratch" on the "New Event" dialog on Events tab- (2.6.a1): Merge All on Players tab errors- (2.6.a1): Dealer buttons do not appear on the Seating Chart screen- (2.6.a1): Moving a table up on the Table Collapse Order Preference dialog could produce an error- (2.6.?): Some values are double HTML encoded in Single Field view- Background images can flash when using IE9 and Windows 7 - (2.6.a1): Opening Tokens dialog (from Layout tab or Rounds tab) can cause a cascading error where various dialogs and tabs produce an error when opened or viewed, until you exit and restart the application

Did you test the beta out at all, mcfrojd, or did you stick to 2.5? If you kept with 2.5, then it is a possibility that people may need to pay to upgrade. However, if you tested the beta prior to the post Corey made, then you should be all set to go once 3.0 becomes available.

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My cowboys shot down your rockets---If you send a request to me please send that you got me from here w/your TD name to confirm. Thanks!